Extreme Weather: Becoming Normal?

We know lately there has been a dramatic increase of ‘Natural Disasters’ across the globe.. Is this extreme weather becoming a normal occurrence? Well most graphs depict increases since the early 1900s, but lately these same graphs have been showing a dramatic increase… I have a feeling that it’s only going to get worse! Below ill include some interesting facts about mother-nature…

Tropical Storms

2005 study published in the journal Nature examined the duration and maximum wind speeds of each tropical cyclone that formed over the last 30 years and found that their destructive power has increased around 70 percent in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Another 2005 study, published in the journal Science, revealed that the percentage of hurricanes classified as Category 4 or 5 (the two strongest categories on the Saffir-Simpson scale) has increased over the same period.

Tornadoes

As pointed out by Sterling Burnett H., (1997), the majority of world scientists disagree with the notion that global climate change is of anthropogenic nature. This is also evidenced by the analysis of a scientists and public opinion survey, provided in the following articles.. (Link 1 and Link 2)

Tsunamis

Thus, statistical study of the tsunami dynamics from ancient times to the present based on two independent databases enables us to conclude that there has been a substantial increase in the number of tsunamis in the last two decades. This tendency persists today as well.

Floods

Earthquakes

The USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year. As more and more seismographs are installed in the world, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) has stayed relatively constant.

Volcanoes

Let us examine the mechanism of causality between volcanic activity and Earth’s temperature changes. A higher number of volcanic eruptions leads to an increased emission into the atmosphere of volcanic gases contributing to the enhanced greenhouse effect and ultimately results in a higher atmospheric temperature.